Rare Bird Alert for CORNWALL - 6th March 2008
March 6, 2008
A LITTLE BUNTING remains for its 4th day 6 miles SE of Truro and south of Portscatho at Porth Farm NT Reserve. Park in the designated car park and walk back along the road for a short way and take the track north for just under half a mile to the stile to view the stubble field at SW 867 329.
A EURASIAN HOOPOE remains for an 8th day 2 miles SE of Land’s End at Polgigga just west of the B3315 and opposite the small duckpond in gardens at ‘The Vineries’. Please respect the privacy of residents. Other early migrants include the odd Sandwich Tern, a trickle of Sand Martins, a White Wagtail and a few Barn Swallows.
Some 20 or more CATTLE EGRETS remain, with 18 between Drift Reservoir and Sancreed in the Treganhoe Farm area and singles at Stithians Reservoir (close to the Golden Lion causeway at the NW end) and SW of Wadebridge at Hay.
The EURASIAN BITTERN is still present at Stithians Reservoir, at the southern end (view from the hide or the causeway), with 6 RED-BILLED CHOUGH on The Lizard and 2 at Land’s End..
On the Hayle Estuary, a 2nd-winter GLAUCOUS GULL and up to 8 Mediterranean Gulls remain, whilst nearby, a mobile and elusive WATER PIPIT remains on the small pools at St Gothian’s Sands LNR (north of Gwithian). At least two juvenile ICELAND GULLS remain in the area, commuting between Drift Reservoir and Newlyn Harbour, with another WATER PIPIT wintering on the beach by the Red River Mouth, Marazion.
At Pendower Beach, Red-necked Grebe, 5 Black-throated Divers and 3 Great Northern Divers remain offshore, whilst Mount’s Bay (Penzance/Marazion) has up to 5 wintering Slavonian Grebes, 2 Black-throated Divers and 5 Great Northern Divers. Some 37 Purple Sandpipers can be seen at high tide at Penzance Harbour Jubilee Pool.
In terms of passerines, up to 4 SIBERIAN CHIFFCHAFFS remain at Long Rock Pool, Marazion, with a YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER at Lower Nansloe Farm (in willows by the entrance track) and a HUME’S LEAF WARBLER at Tehidy Country Park, Camborne.
UK400clubonline email group
March 6, 2008
For regularly updated information on all vagrants, scarcities and rare breeding birds, subscribe to the British Birding Association and UK400clubonline email group below
RareBirdAlertforBritainandIreland_UK400ClubBBA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
This email group covers not only all those vagrants occurring in the region but also features inland rarities, such as divers, scarce grebes, auks, Fulmars, Purple Sandpipers, Twites, Lapland Buntings and the like, as well as influxes of unusual birds (such as Black & Arctic Terns, Little Gulls, etc).
Selective news from elsewhere in the Western Palearctic is also featured
Details of membership to the UK400 Club can be found at www.uk400clubonline.co.uk
Lee G R Evans
British Birding Association
UK400 Club, Rare Birds Magazine, Ornithological Consultant and Conservationist
Discussion Forum/Email Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UK400Club/
Rare Bird Alert: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RareBirdAlertforBritainandIreland_UK400ClubBBA/
Email Address: LGREUK400@aol.com
Website Address: www.uk400clubonline.co.uk
Chaffinch House
8 Sandycroft Road
Little Chalfont
Amersham
Buckinghamshire
England
HP6 6QL
Telephones: 01494 763010 and 01494 581157
Mobile/Text Alerts: 07881 906629
(Lee Evans Enterprises incorporate documentation of rare bird occurrences in Britain & Ireland and elsewhere in the Western Palearctic and in North America; Rare Bird Information and Rare Bird Alerts; Rare Birds Magazine and other related publications; Bird Tours for Birders)
Product Review - Hampshire Bird Report 2006
March 6, 2008
Wow ! What a production. From the dazzling Osprey front cover through the array of colour photographs and artwork inside, this bumper 254-page special 50th Edition is truly sumptuous. The editorial team (Alan Cox, John Clark, Jason Crook, Richard Ford, Paul Norris and Pauline Cox) are to be congratulated on this mamoth production, quite easily one of the best county bird reports ever published.
Following an obituary to Norman William Orr (the Stone Curlew saviour in the 1960’s), who sadly died in 2006, pages 13-176 review all 253 species of bird recorded in the county during 2006, including the first DUSKY WARBLER (362nd species recorded since 1949), only 3rd-ever SURF SCOTER, two CATTLE EGRETS, two WOODCHAT SHRIKES and AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. The review is very well written, very neatly produced and extremely well presented, with easy-to-read histograms and charts highlighting the wildfowl counts and wader counts.
I particularly liked the matching blue, red and black text colours and was most impressed by the choice of photographs (all in full colour throughout) (Peter Raby’s image of the Pennington juvenile SemiP is outstanding, as well as Richard Ford’s Long-eared Owl). Each individual species text was accurate and informative and quite detailed when discussing a county scarcity. Equally pleasing was the excellent selection of artwork provided by the two local artists - David Thelwell and Dan Powell.
Towards the back of the report, Duncan Bell provided the 2006 Ringing summary (pages 185-197), followed by a comprehensive account by John Eyre on the status of Woodlark in Hampshire (198-203), an excellent analysis by Russell Wynn of the status of seabirds (204-212), a prelude to the 2007-2011 Bird Atlas (213-220) and an article by John Cloyne on the Birds of the Itchen Valley (221-231). Particularly interesting was an article on Grey Partridges (247 pairs recorded in 2006), whilst the winter gull survey results and full documentation of the Hayling Island Dusky Warbler finish the book.
Fifty years of the Hampshire Bird Report is an achievement to be proud of and Alan Cox has illustrated on pages 245-251 the leaps and bounds the Hampshire Ornithological Group has come along.
This 2006 report can be purchased (priced £12 including p & p) from Margaret Boswell, Sales Officer, 5 Clarence Road, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7AL.
Lee G R Evans
British Birding Association
UK400 Club, Rare Birds Magazine, Ornithological Consultant and Conservationist
Discussion Forum/Email Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UK400Club/
Rare Bird Alert: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RareBirdAlertforBritainandIreland_UK400ClubBBA/
Email Address: LGREUK400@aol.com
Website Address: www.uk400clubonline.co.uk
Chaffinch House
8 Sandycroft Road
Little Chalfont
Amersham
Buckinghamshire
England
HP6 6QL
Telephones: 01494 763010 and 01494 581157
Mobile/Text Alerts: 07881 906629
(Lee Evans Enterprises incorporate documentation of rare bird occurrences in Britain & Ireland and elsewhere in the Western Palearctic and in North America; Rare Bird Information and Rare Bird Alerts; Rare Birds Magazine and other related publications; Bird Tours for Birders)
Regional review for SCOTLAND
March 4, 2008
This is the regional review for SCOTLAND, covering the period 1st-4th March 2008 - regional reviews for all areas of Britain can be found at the UK400 Club Rare Bird Alert email group (subscription membership only). Information for this review was mainly supplied by BIRDLINE SCOTLAND (09068 700234 *To phone in news, 01292 611994), RARE BIRD ALERT (www.rarebirdalert.com) and BIRDGUIDES (www.birdguides.com).
Wintering WHITE-BILLED DIVERS include a single adult off Port Skigersta, at the extreme NW end of Lewis (Outer Hebrides), and 3 in South Nesting Bay (Shetland), whilst small numbers of RED-NECKED GREBE remain offshore in the Firth of Forth, best observed during calm conditions off Longniddry (Lothian). A Black-necked Grebe was seen off Aberlady Bay (Lothian) on 2nd.
The only ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD in Scotland this winter is the well-watched juvenile at Queenamidda (Orkney) whilst WHITE-TAILED SEA and GOLDEN EAGLES are still showing well in Lochmaddy Harbour and elsewhere on North Uist (Outer Hebrides) and in Gruinard Bay (Highland).
The first-winter SPOTTED SANDPIPER remains on the River Avon, adjacent to the Kinneil Lagoon (Forth), favouring the section between the sewage farm and the pipebridge downstream. It is best to park by the sewage works at the end of the approach track from the A904. In Angus, the long-staying first-winter LESSER YELLOWLEGS continues at the Rossie Spit, Montrose Basin LNR (view from near the railway viaduct), the lone vagrant PIED AVOCET also still here. The wintering WHIMBREL remains on Burray (Orkney), favouring the beach just east of the hotel.
Just 3 COMMON CRANES remain in Moray & Nairn (of 11), two adults and a juvenile in ploughed fields between Pitgaveny House and Gordonstown at cNJ 242 648 (moving to near Loch Spynie on 4th),.
In terms of wildfowl, the blue morph adult SNOW GOOSE was in roadside fields at Falside Farm, Anstruther (Fife) on 1st-2nd, a scattering of PALE-BELLIED BRENT GEESE include 8 at Carnoustie (Angus), two off Montrose Pier (Angus) and 7 off Maidens Beach (Ayrshire), 2 GREENLAND WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at Lochlea Farm Pool (Ayrshire) (NS 457 303) and two flocks still in Galloway, a drake LESSER SCAUP reported at Loch Magillie, Stranraer (Galloway), adult drake SURF SCOTERS include singles off Dornoch (Sutherland), Ruddon’s Point, Lower Largo (Fife) and off Lower Largo town (Fife) and a drake NORTH AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL remains on Loch of Tingwall (Shetland).. A pair of SMEW continues at Vane Farm RSPB (Perthshire), with single redheads at Scatness Pool (Shetland), Carlingwark Loch (Dumfries) and Linlithgow Loch (Lothian) and a drake at South Calder Water mouth (Clyde) and at Loch na Bo (Moray), whilst LONG-TAILED DUCKS remain on freshwater at Castle Loch NR (Galloway). At least 132 Greater Scaup were counted on the pond at Auchenharvie Golf Course (Ayrshire) on 2nd March (at NS 258 414) whilst a drake GARGANEY was an exceptional find at Loch Fada, Benbecula (Outer Hebrides) on 4th.
A RED-NECKED GREBE was an unusual occurrence off The Wig, off the west shore of Loch Ryan (Galloway) on 1st (Pete Berry), this same area harbouring up to 15 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, 4 Great Northern Divers and a wintering flock of 11 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. An adult Mediterranean Gull has been frequenting Soleburm Bridge, with a 2nd-winter Iceland Gull reported behind the cafe in St Agnew Park and an immature Kumlien’s-type gull at Bishop Burn, Stranraer. Some 675 Greater Scaup remain just north of Stranraer.
An adult RING-BILLED GULL has been showing very well on the west side of Strathclyde Loch (Clyde) (Keith Hoey et al), favouring the area by the car park in the SW corner, whilst regular ICELAND GULLS include the adult in Ayr town centre (Ayrshire), a 2nd-winter on Aviemore Tip (Speyside). up to 8 juveniles in Mallaig Harbour (Argyll), several in Fraserburgh Harbour (Aberdeenshire), up to 10 in Carness Bay (Orkney) and up to 5 juveniles in Stornoway Harbour, Lewis (Outer Hebrides). It has been a good year for juvenile GLAUCOUS GULLS, with two on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) and singles at Fraserburgh, Forfar Loch (Angus) and a host of other sites, whilst a 2nd-winter KUMLIEN’S GULL was identified in Fraserburgh Harbour on 2nd (Chris Gibbins).
The ringed Siberian Lesser Whitethroat (blythii) continues to visit garden feeders in Irvine (Ayrshire) whilst a wintering BLACK REDSTART remains at nearby Seamill (Ayrshire), favouring the rocky foreshore south of the burn adjacent to the Hydro. A female BLACK REDSTART is also showing well on the beach between Ardencaple Hotel and Ardencaple burn mouth (NS 278 832) near Hemensburgh (Clyde), with another seen at Dunbar (Lothian) on 3rd. A WATER PIPIT at Dunglass Burn river mouth (Borders) is one of a tiny few wintering in Scotland this year, whilst BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS still lingering in Scotland include 20 on Springfield Road, Aberdeen and 3 in Motherwell (Clyde).
Lee G R Evans
British Birding Association
UK400 Club, Rare Birds Magazine, Ornithological Consultant and Conservationist
Lee’s Diary Updated
March 2, 2008
Members can now download and read Lee’s latest diary notes covering February 5th - 8th 2008, non members please contact LGRE for details
Rare Bird Alert - Issue 5 2008
March 1, 2008
To Read The Full Issue Right Click and Save As to Download
This is the British Birding Association Rare Bird Alert for Friday 29th February 2008, issued at 2100 hours and published in association with Rare Bird Alert Pagers (www.rarebirdalert.com) and utilising additional information gleaned from Birdguides, the Regional Birdline network, local email groups and websites and individual observers. All Irish rare bird news is by kind courtesy of John Coveney and BINS
At the end of a very mild week (and in fact one of the warmest Februarys on record), it came as no surprise to see a number of early migrants recorded, including large numbers of Pied Avocets, numerous Eurasian Curlews, Sand Martins, a single House Martin in Cornwall, the odd Northern Wheatear and a Little Ringed Plover in Hampshire (266th species of the year).
Download the full report Issue 5 - 2008
Slaughter of Red-footed Falcons in Cyprus
March 1, 2008
Not sure if anyone has been following this but the “poachers†who shot 52 Red-footed Falcons in Cyprus eventually came to trial this week.
Full story from the Cyprus Mail –
BirdLife Cyprus cries foul on ‘derisory’ penalty for falcon slaughter By Anna Hassapi
AN SBA Court yesterday imposed a fine of €1,250 each on the two poachers involved in the shocking falcon massacre at Phasouri, where 52 endangered red-footed falcons were shot dead.
BirdLife Cyprus expressed its outrage at the “derisory†sentence, having hoped for a stringent sanction to act as a deterrent on would-be poachers.
“This is disastrous case of failure of a judicial system coming close on the heels of failure of an enforcement system,†said BirdLife Cyprus Executive Manager Martin Hellicar.
“The shooting of these highly endangered falcons should never have been allowed to happen and the derisory penalties imposed today will not even begin to act as a deterrent for other would-be poachers in what is a well-known poaching black-spot.â€
Under the relevant bird protection law, the British Sovereign Base Area (SBA) court could have imposed a fine of up to €17,000 or up to three years’ imprisonment, or both.
The October massacre was the worst case of bird of prey killing ever reported in Cyprus.
The two poachers, however, received a light sentence with no prison time, as the prosecution finally amended the number of shot falcons to four. This ‘compromise’ was the result of heavy plea-bargaining.
Despite admitting to shooting the falcons in their testimony to SBA police shortly after their arrest in mid-October, the two had initially pleaded not guilty before the court to charges of shooting protected species in a prohibited area. The two men finally admitted to shooting four of the birds, claiming they had mistaken them for turtle doves.
Even so, questions are raised on whether the number of birds shot down or the fact that this is a rare, protected species should have been the essence of the case. And if the suspects shot only four of the birds, how, then, did the rest perish?
“Unfortunately, ineffective penalties such as the ones imposed yesterday are the norm when it comes to poaching offences in Cyprus, whether this be with guns, nets or limesticks. It is high time for Brussels to take serious note of the degenerating poaching situation in Cyprus – particularly as regards illegal bird trapping, which doubled last Autumn – and demand effective enforcement action from both the UK and Cyprus governments.”
The October 5 shooting of the Red-footed falcon flock caused widespread outrage in Cyprus and abroad. The handsome falcons – a species of global conservation concern – appeared to have been shot down for “target practice†as they rested on the Akrotiri peninsula, a key stop-over point for migrant birds heading for Africa. Farm workers found 46 of the migrating falcon flock dead at the scene. Six injured birds were taken to the Cyprus Game Fund bird hospital, where they later died of their injuries.
This is not the first time illegal shooting has resulted in the killing of birds of prey and other migrants, such as bee-eaters, at Phasouri on the Akrotiri peninsula near Limassol. BirdLife Cyprus has for years been calling for effective anti-poaching action on the peninsula, which is the most important autumn migration stop-over area on the island for thousands of birds, and birds of prey in particular.
After the October massacre, the SBA police and Cyprus Game Fund said they were stepping up joint anti-poaching patrols in the Akrotiri area. The main problem on the peninsula in recent years has been the absence of such joint action.
Taking advantage of this enforcement gap, illegal hunters have profited along the ‘border’ between the SBA and Republic, simply stepping across the dividing line to avoid either SBA Police or Game Fund patrols.
Ongoing monitoring of illegal bird trapping by BirdLife Cyprus showed that trappers on the island killed an estimated 500,000 birds in Autumn 2007, to be sold as expensive ambelopoulia delicacies in local restaurants. The banned delicacies are freely available in local restaurants.
BirdLife Cyprus added that the poaching situation in general – and the ituation regarding illegal bird trapping in particular, was deteriorating on the sland, and called for urgent intervention from the EU.
“BirdLife Cyprus will be keeping a very close watch on the poaching situation n the Akrotiri area,” Hellicar vowed.
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